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Spicy Home Remedies
Each of these Simple Home Remedies add a spicy flare to cooking, but they also have wonderful healing properties. Cayenne pepper-Technically cayenne pepper is a berry and it has as many phytonutrients as the more well known berries. Usually a bright red colour, but you can also find purple, orange and yellow cayenne peppers. Native to Central and South America, it also does well growing in our colder, wetter temperate climates. However, peppers grown in the Northwest contain quite a bit less heat than those grown from hotter climates. Capsaicin is the medicinal ingredient in cayenne that acts as an effective pain reliever, digestive and anti-ulcer aid (believe it or not!) and it helps promote circulation. It also has the ability to lower body temperature, which is why it's so popular in tropical climates and rev up metabolic rate to stimulate fat burning. In creams and gels, capsaicin, used topically, helps with arthritis, psoriasis and post herpes pain as well as cluster headaches. Look for the cream or gel in fine health food stores or pharmacies. Use in the kitchen:
Black pepper-Indigenous to India, it is one of the most popular seasonings, after salt, in the world. In Greece it was actually used as currency and Attila the Hun demanded pepper in ransom for Rome! Why was it so popular? Well, it spiced up foods, but it also disguised lack of freshness, an important ingredient before refrigerators came along! Pepper's benefits focus around its ability as a digestive aid, but it also acts as a diaphoretic (increases sweating), carminative (cures flatulence) and diuretic (promotes formation of urine). Piperine, an active ingredient in pepper, increases the absorption of selenium, B vitamins and beta carotene! It also helps with the body's ability to regulate temperature and enhances liver detoxification. Black pepper is readily available in whole, cracked and ground form. To get the best flavour, however, use whole peppercorns in a spice mill and grind over your meal. Also, purchase organic only as some spices may be irradiated or genetically modified!. Whole peppercorns will keep a long time, but cracked or ground need to be kept in a cool, dark and dry place. Use fresh for the best medicinal effects rather than heating in cooking. Use in the kitchen:
Warning! Pepper contains low amounts of oxalate. If you have a history of oxalate-containing kidney stones you may want to limit your use of pepper. Ginger-One of the top ten foods Dr. Andrew Weil recommends, it is loaded with beneficial properties. He suggests we consume it every day and with its delightful flavour and versatility I concur! It's two main benefits are its ability as a digestive aid and anti-inflammatory. Not only does it reduce gas, but it also is incredibly effective at calming an upset tummy. It helps with nausea from motion, pregnancy and viruses and even calms the dizziness associated with nausea. For those looking at an anti-inflammatory lifestyle, ginger should definitely be added to the diet. It contains gingerols, which are potent anti-inflammatory compounds. Regular ingestion of ginger can reduce the pain of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis by inhibiting the formation of inflammatory cytokines. Use in the Kitchen:
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